Kevin Feige says Marvel is "trying to figure out what to do" with Daredevil and Punisher

Ever since Marvel got the film rights back for Daredevil and Punisher, people have wondered if (and when) the company will do more films (or a television series) featuring the comic book characters. While talking to Bleeding Cool, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says they are still trying to decide what they should do with the characters, and there isn't a rush to put them back on the big screen.

We’re trying to figure out what to do with Daredevil now. Punisher could show up at one point. You know, once we get characters back into the Marvel fold we don’t want to do something right away, we want to do the smart thing at the smart time.

His comments are similar to ones he had previously made on the characters, although it does sound like at least a couple of conversations have taken place already for Punisher. With Marvel's big plans for television, both characters could potentially end up in a series instead of another movie, but I think most fans won't be happy with the idea if it's on ABC. Especially with characters and stories as dark as the ones featured in the Punisher and Daredevil comics.

But at least Marvel is cautiously exploring their options instead of just trying to shoehorn Punisher and Daredevil into their cinematic universe, and hopefully we'll get excellent silver or small screen versions of these two great characters in the near future.

With regard to the tidbit, given the complexities of nearly all superheroes (and supporting characters)...wouldn't a tv series work better in all cases (obviously at a cost of losing the budget and opportunity to get named actors that movies offer)? In any case, both characters would work well in a television series and the Thomas Jane short was great and showed that he deserves a second chance at playing Frank Castle (and as poor as the first film was, like the Silver Surfer intro scene in

With regard to the tidbit, given the complexities of nearly all superheroes (and supporting characters)...wouldn't a tv series work better in all cases (obviously at a cost of losing the budget and opportunity to get named actors that movies offer)? In any case, both characters would work well in a television series and the Thomas Jane short was great and showed that he deserves a second chance at playing Frank Castle (and as poor as the first film was, like the Silver Surfer intro scene in FF2, the family massacre scene in the Punisher deserved a far superior film - say on the level of Man on Fire). The short, also proves the character could work in a movie but only if done in the same way (or lets say a Man on Fire way).

I do wish the Born Again film with David Slade at the helm had gone ahead. I guess a parallel "underbelly" Marvel cinematic universe, kind of the like Max imprint equivalent in the movies, would do these characters a world of good.

I do wish the Born Again film with David Slade at the helm had gone ahead. I guess a parallel "underbelly" Marvel cinematic universe, kind of the like Max imprint equivalent in the movies, would do these characters a world of good.

Totally agree! Or HBO. Thomas Jane nailed it in 2004 and Dirty Laundry proved he has a firm grasp on the character. I think it's going to take someone with balls who Isn't afraid to make a dark, gritty hard-core action film or series and not cater to crowdpleasing, corny bullshit to do the character and franchise justice, ultimately.

Totally agree! Or HBO. Thomas Jane nailed it in 2004 and Dirty Laundry proved he has a firm grasp on the character. I think it's going to take someone with balls who Isn't afraid to make a dark, gritty hard-core action film or series and not cater to crowdpleasing, corny bullshit to do the character and franchise justice, ultimately.

I would rather have Punisher and Daredevil back on the big screen than in their own television shows. They are two of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe and I would love for both of them to get their own worthy franchises and maybe be apart of the darker side of The Avengers realm.

Would love to see Thomas Jane back as The Punisher and Aaron Eckhart as the new Daredevil.

I would rather have Punisher and Daredevil back on the big screen than in their own television shows. They are two of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe and I would love for both of them to get their own worthy franchises and maybe be apart of the darker side of The Avengers realm.

Would love to see Thomas Jane back as The Punisher and Aaron Eckhart as the new Daredevil.

Extra Tidbit

Ok...Given that the potential TV series would probably end up on ABC I'd have to say that Daredevil would be the most likely candidate. This is only being said because and ABC show would not be able to deliver the level of violence and body count that is The Punisher. Now on cable....most definitely The Punisher.

Ok...Given that the potential TV series would probably end up on ABC I'd have to say that Daredevil would be the most likely candidate. This is only being said because and ABC show would not be able to deliver the level of violence and body count that is The Punisher. Now on cable....most definitely The Punisher.

They were on the right track with the Thomas Jane version of The Punisher. If it were up to me I would bring Thomas Jane back and use Dirty Laundry as the template for a half sequel/half reboot of the franchise. That's how the stories are supposed to be. The only other thing I can think of is maybe having an HBO Punisher series with, again, Thomas Jane returning. I've always thought Sylvester Stallone would make a great punisher as well and he is in the age range, but I really loved the 2004

They were on the right track with the Thomas Jane version of The Punisher. If it were up to me I would bring Thomas Jane back and use Dirty Laundry as the template for a half sequel/half reboot of the franchise. That's how the stories are supposed to be. The only other thing I can think of is maybe having an HBO Punisher series with, again, Thomas Jane returning. I've always thought Sylvester Stallone would make a great punisher as well and he is in the age range, but I really loved the 2004 version of the punisher so I would love to see something continuing that universe.

I think they should have a secondary film series in the universe. You have the main movies in the Phases but then you have something like a Marvel Knights series of films set in the universe but separate for characters like Blade,Punisher and Daredevil. And they occasionally pop up in the main films

I think they should have a secondary film series in the universe. You have the main movies in the Phases but then you have something like a Marvel Knights series of films set in the universe but separate for characters like Blade,Punisher and Daredevil. And they occasionally pop up in the main films

Extra tidbit: Punisher. Daredevil would just end up being like any other super hero show with a guy doing a day job in law enforcement then at night fighting crime. Punisher on the other hand would have both the cops and the crooks trying to chase after him while the mysterious punisher goes after the criminals in a way that the cops can not. The series itself can be him constantly on the move from one place to the next much like the live action version of the incredible hulk. That would make

Extra tidbit: Punisher. Daredevil would just end up being like any other super hero show with a guy doing a day job in law enforcement then at night fighting crime. Punisher on the other hand would have both the cops and the crooks trying to chase after him while the mysterious punisher goes after the criminals in a way that the cops can not. The series itself can be him constantly on the move from one place to the next much like the live action version of the incredible hulk. That would make for a more interesting series than something that takes place on one location with one preset group of characters.

Either Could Work As A TV Show

Daredevil as a TV show could work as he has a big bad that could be behind the scenes pulling strings that Matt has to discover then confront. Also, as a lawyer, Daredevil can have a "client of the week" case that he has to get involved in to get justice for his client as well as his on and off again relationship with Electra. That's all classic TV story material. The Punisher on TV could just be a "villain of the week" that has done something terrible and skirted the law so Frank has to go out

Daredevil as a TV show could work as he has a big bad that could be behind the scenes pulling strings that Matt has to discover then confront. Also, as a lawyer, Daredevil can have a "client of the week" case that he has to get involved in to get justice for his client as well as his on and off again relationship with Electra. That's all classic TV story material. The Punisher on TV could just be a "villain of the week" that has done something terrible and skirted the law so Frank has to go out and get them for a person that contacted him or just someone Frank wants off the streets. The subplot could be a prolonged mystery of who killed Frank's family and why. The violence associated with The Punisher is going to be toned way down for broadcast TV, less toned down for basic cable and relatively toned down for pay cable. Are they ideal TV series? NO. But they could each work, specifically Daredevil. That being said, I would prefer them to be on the big screen but, in the end, getting them in any living form is cool with me. As long as they don't suck!

Joe Carnahan NEEDS to make HIS Daredevil movie

Marvel should create an offshoot of the MCU with it's more adult character and allow some young, visionary directors to make $20-$30 million hard-R films for these characters. Give me a Daredevil movie with Joe Carnahan writing and directing, the sizzle reel that he created for Daredevil was spot on. As for Mr. Castle I would be cool as a lower budget full on revenge flick...I could only imagine how freaking amazing a Punisher film written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn would be...he

Marvel should create an offshoot of the MCU with it's more adult character and allow some young, visionary directors to make $20-$30 million hard-R films for these characters. Give me a Daredevil movie with Joe Carnahan writing and directing, the sizzle reel that he created for Daredevil was spot on. As for Mr. Castle I would be cool as a lower budget full on revenge flick...I could only imagine how freaking amazing a Punisher film written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn would be...he has the perfect aesthetic and directorial style to make the definitive Punisher movie and he can work on a $25-$30 million dollar budget. I also like the idea of Kurt Sutter making a really gritty, violent Punisher film as his directorial debut.

I like the idea of a Daredevil show on FX or HBO, I think Punisher may be a harder sell for TV but with the right show runner (Kurt Sutter) it could be downright amazing.

Both characters deserve to be treated with the same care and respect as Thor or Ironman...Daredevil is my favorite Marvel character and I think he would be in perfect hands with Carnahan.

Good ideas, but I have to disagree with your choices of Refn and Sutter. I don't think I could watch Frank Castle staring at people for two hours, and Sutter's writing is spotty at best. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's shit. Shawn Ryan might be a better choice.

Good ideas, but I have to disagree with your choices of Refn and Sutter. I don't think I could watch Frank Castle staring at people for two hours, and Sutter's writing is spotty at best. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's shit. Shawn Ryan might be a better choice.

DD on TV

DD on TV is a must-see! It would be Marvel's answer to the success DC is having with ARROW. Just a costume and a cane. Lotsa fight scenes and swinging around on roof tops. NO different than Arrow. Go with a no-name, up and coming actor and some villians by way of cameos. Badda BING! Punisher would get too tamed down for TV.

DD on TV is a must-see! It would be Marvel's answer to the success DC is having with ARROW. Just a costume and a cane. Lotsa fight scenes and swinging around on roof tops. NO different than Arrow. Go with a no-name, up and coming actor and some villians by way of cameos. Badda BING! Punisher would get too tamed down for TV.

Hannibal on NBC works because they're not owned by Disney and by extension can go to a dark and gritty place with their shows.

ABC has to have the sunny side of life shows so they don't tamper with Disney's corporate image. Not an insult at ABC, NBC, or Disney. Just a reality of the networks.

That being said, Daredevil would be the better of the two characters to have a series on ABC. You can make that show light enough to be on the network and not totally water down the character.

Hannibal on NBC works because they're not owned by Disney and by extension can go to a dark and gritty place with their shows.

ABC has to have the sunny side of life shows so they don't tamper with Disney's corporate image. Not an insult at ABC, NBC, or Disney. Just a reality of the networks.

That being said, Daredevil would be the better of the two characters to have a series on ABC. You can make that show light enough to be on the network and not totally water down the character. Unless it's on HBO or Showtime, there is just no good way to put Punisher on tv.

Re: Extra Tidbit, I think both can work as TV shows. Daredevil could work very well on any of the networks as the storyline itself would lend itself the typical TV mold - overarching villain of the season, but there are villains of the week he encounters as a lawyer.

Punisher I think could only work on a cable network like HBO or Showtime. You would really need to up the ante on violence. But the basic idea could work as him trying to find the people that killed his family with villains

Re: Extra Tidbit, I think both can work as TV shows. Daredevil could work very well on any of the networks as the storyline itself would lend itself the typical TV mold - overarching villain of the season, but there are villains of the week he encounters as a lawyer.

Punisher I think could only work on a cable network like HBO or Showtime. You would really need to up the ante on violence. But the basic idea could work as him trying to find the people that killed his family with villains of the week spread throughout the season(s).

I could honestly see either show being very much like a superhero version of Justified.

Put em' together.

The captioned photo with this article shows them facing off, right? Put these dark heroes together, make one hell of an R-rated movie, and dominate the Fall box office. I'd be down for that! Now just imagine if Carnahan was in the director's chair and giving it a 70's 'Death Wish' feel. Still think he's the most logical (and willing) candidate. Doesn't even matter if the rights are back to Marvel, they could still make this dark and gritty and have it distributed by Touchstone. Don't see why

The captioned photo with this article shows them facing off, right? Put these dark heroes together, make one hell of an R-rated movie, and dominate the Fall box office. I'd be down for that! Now just imagine if Carnahan was in the director's chair and giving it a 70's 'Death Wish' feel. Still think he's the most logical (and willing) candidate. Doesn't even matter if the rights are back to Marvel, they could still make this dark and gritty and have it distributed by Touchstone. Don't see why there's question marks all over this.

It's a no brainer!

The Punisher would make an awesome TV series! Done right, at a channel that will allow the stories to be told the way they should be (HBO, SHO, STARZ, CINEMAX, or even AMC, F/X, etc), it could be the most kick-ass series on TV. The Walking Dead gets away with a ton of violence, and Spartacus was just kick-ass from beginning to end. Ray Stevenson would kill it as Frank Castle, but keep the campy bullshit (ala War Zone) out of it. These should be gritty stories in the vein of The Shield, Sons

The Punisher would make an awesome TV series! Done right, at a channel that will allow the stories to be told the way they should be (HBO, SHO, STARZ, CINEMAX, or even AMC, F/X, etc), it could be the most kick-ass series on TV. The Walking Dead gets away with a ton of violence, and Spartacus was just kick-ass from beginning to end. Ray Stevenson would kill it as Frank Castle, but keep the campy bullshit (ala War Zone) out of it. These should be gritty stories in the vein of The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, Spartacus, Justified, etc. Frank Castle could be the Baddest MF on TV.

Funny. I was just listening to the Punisher score at work today and wondering when and if another movie would appear. Tom Jane already has connections with HBO from Hung, so I wouldn't mind seeing a Punisher series with him as the lead. I think Daredevil deserves a movie though. Before he was cast as Batman, I thought it would be awesome for Ben Affleck to direct a Daredevil movie based on his work on The Town and Gone Baby Gone, even if he didn't star in it.

Funny. I was just listening to the Punisher score at work today and wondering when and if another movie would appear. Tom Jane already has connections with HBO from Hung, so I wouldn't mind seeing a Punisher series with him as the lead. I think Daredevil deserves a movie though. Before he was cast as Batman, I thought it would be awesome for Ben Affleck to direct a Daredevil movie based on his work on The Town and Gone Baby Gone, even if he didn't star in it.

You can't figure out what to do with The Punisher and Daredevil films?

I've already figured it out. Here's what you do:
Most importantly - don't spend any money on the Blu-Rays, even if they are on sale for like 6.99 at Target. You're only going to want to watch these like once every 4 years. Eventually you will come across them on FX or AMC. Sure, there's going to be commercials, and some editing, but you'll get sick of it within 10 minutes and change over to something else. Problem solved.

I've already figured it out. Here's what you do:
Most importantly - don't spend any money on the Blu-Rays, even if they are on sale for like 6.99 at Target. You're only going to want to watch these like once every 4 years. Eventually you will come across them on FX or AMC. Sure, there's going to be commercials, and some editing, but you'll get sick of it within 10 minutes and change over to something else. Problem solved.